Air conditioning unit and air conditioning system comprising the same

ABSTRACT

An air conditioning system is provided. Air is pulled-in/exhausted from/into an indoor space or indoor and outdoor spaces using one fan. Thus, a configuration of the air conditioning system can be further simplified.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2008-0042913, filed on May 8, 2008, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioning system, and moreparticularly, to an air conditioning unit for heating/cooling andventilating an indoor space and an air conditioning system including thesame.

An air conditioner is an appliance for heating/cooling an indoor space.An air conditioning system for heating/cooling a plurality of indoorspaces is known. The air conditioning system generally includes one airconditioning unit and a plurality of outdoor units connected to the airconditioning unit. In addition, the air conditioning unit of the airconditioning system includes components for ventilating the indoorspace. A known air conditioning unit utilizes two separate fans and fandrive motors. A first fan and its associated drive motor have at leasttwo functions. Firstly, they pull-in return air from an indoor spaceinto a first chamber and push some or all of that air to a secondchamber. They secondly selectively exhaust the some of the air notpushed to the second chamber to an outdoor space. A second fan and itsassociated drive motor, also have at least two different functions.Firstly, they exhaust air from the second chamber into the indoor space.Secondly, they selectively pull-in air from the outdoor space, ifoutdoor air is admitted to the second chamber, and exhaust that air tothe indoor space. The known air conditioning unit is necessarily largeenough to house the two sets of fans and drive motors and thus requiresan installation area that is correspondingly large. What is needed is asimpler unit that is less expensive and has a smaller installation area.Despite a long felt need for such a simpler unit, one is not known toexist. In part, this may be due to an inability to provide the multiplefunctions of the two sets of fans and drive motors with only one fan andits associated drive motor.

SUMMARY

Embodiments provide an air conditioning unit with a further simpleconfiguration and an air conditioning system including the same.

In one embodiment, an air conditioning unit includes one fan configuredto both: pull-in air from an indoor space and selectively exhaust someof the air to an outdoor space and exhaust the remaining air into theindoor space; and selectively pull-in air from the outdoor space andalso exhaust that air to the indoor space; and a heat-exchanger (whichmay be referred to herein for convenience as an “indoor heat-exchanger”because the air passing through it is directed to the indoor area)selectively heat-exchanged with the air that flows through the fan andis exhausted into the indoor space.

In another embodiment, an air conditioning unit includes: a casing,including a suction chamber, in which air pulled-in from an indoor spaceand an outdoor space are mixed; a first exhaust chamber; a secondexhaust chamber; one fan, configured to pull-in air from the indoor andoutdoor spaces to the suction chamber, transfer air from the suctionchamber into the first exhaust chamber, wherein a portion of the airtransferred into the first exhaust chamber is exhausted into the outdoorspace, transfer the portion of the air remaining within the firstexhaust chamber to the second exhaust chamber, and exhaust the air fromthe second exhaust chamber to the indoor space; and one drive motoroperationally coupled to the fan.

In another embodiment, an air conditioning unit includes an airconditioning unit having a casing, which includes an indoor suctionhole, formed as a first opening in the casing, through which air ispulled-in from an indoor space; an outdoor suction hole, formed as asecond opening in the casing, through which air is pulled-in from anoutdoor space; an outdoor exhaust hole, formed as a third opening in thecasing, in which a portion of air pulled-in through the indoor andoutdoor suction holes or the indoor suction hole is selectivelyexhausted into the outdoor space; an indoor exhaust hole, formed as afourth opening in the casing, in which the rest of the air pulled-inthrough the indoor and outdoor suction holes or the indoor suction holeis exhausted into the indoor space; one fan for pulling-in air throughthe indoor suction hole and outdoor suction hole and exhausting airthrough the outdoor exhaust hole and the indoor exhaust hole; and onedrive motor operationally coupled to the fan.

In still further another embodiment, an air conditioning systemincludes: an air conditioning unit of any one of the above-describedunits; a first heat exchanger in each of the above-described units; andone or more outdoor units comprising a second heat-exchanger connectedto the first heat-exchanger.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent fromthe description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of a ventilation mode ofan air conditioning system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a configuration of a heat-exchange mode ofan air conditioning system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a configuration of an air conditioningsystem according to a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

The invention represents a novel and non-obvious solution to theproblems faced by the inventors in that the elimination of one fan,while retaining its function, permits the reduction in size of the airconditioning unit that was long sought for. Moreover, the solution tothe problem unexpectedly results in manufacturing cost savings, as onlyone fan and one motor are required. Additionally, the solution resultsin maintenance savings over the lifetime of the unit as the unit's ownerwill only need to maintain one fan and one motor.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of a ventilation mode ofan air conditioning system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is aview illustrating a configuration of a heat-exchange mode of an airconditioning system according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an air conditioning system includes one airconditioning unit 10 and a plurality of outdoor units 31, 32, and 33.The air conditioning unit 10 may be configured to heat/cool andventilate a plurality of indoor spaces. The plurality of outdoor units31, 32, 33 may be connected to the air conditioning unit 10. Althoughthree outdoor units 31, 32, 33 are connected to the air conditioningunit 10 in the first embodiment, the number of outdoor units 31, 32, 33is not limited thereto as more or less than three outdoor units areacceptable. Although not shown, various components such as an outdoorheat-exchanger and a compressor may be installed in each of the outdoorunits 31, 32, 33.

A suction chamber 111 is disposed inside a casing 110 of the airconditioning unit 10. The suction chamber provides a space forsuctioning air from an indoor space (hereinafter, referred to as “indoorair”) and air from an outdoor space (hereinafter, referred to as“outdoor air”). For this, the suction chamber 111 communicates with theindoor space and the outdoor space through an indoor suction hole 112and an outdoor suction hole 113, respectively. Substantially, the indoorsuction hole 112 and the outdoor suction hole 113 are connected to aduct (not shown) communicating with the indoor space or the outdoorspace, respectively. In the suction chamber 111, the indoor airpulled-in through the indoor suction hole 112 and the outdoor airpulled-in through the outdoor suction hole 113 are mixed.

A first exhaust chamber 115 is disposed inside the casing 110. The firstexhaust chamber 115 provides a space that communicates with the suctionchamber 111 and receives air (hereinafter, referred to as “mixed air”)in which the indoor air and the outdoor air are mixed within the suctionchamber 111 to exhaust a portion of the mixed air to the outdoor space.For this, the first exhaust chamber 115 communicates with the outdoorspace through an outdoor exhaust hole 116.

A second exhaust chamber 117 communicating with the first exhaustchamber 115 is disposed inside the casing 110. The second exhaustchamber 117 provides a space in which the air passing through the firstexhaust chamber 115 is received to heat-exchange the received air withan indoor heat-exchanger 140, which will be described later, and exhaustthe heat-exchanged air into the indoor space. For this, the secondexhaust chamber 117 communicates with the indoor space through an indoorexhaust hole 118.

A fan 120 is disposed inside the suction chamber 111. The fan 120generates an air flow between the inside of the casing 100, i.e., thesuction chamber 111 and the first and second exhaust chambers 115 and117 and the indoor space and/or the outdoor space. In detail, when thefan 120 is driven, the indoor air is pulled-in from the indoor space tothe suction chamber 111 through the indoor suction hole 112, the outdoorair is pulled-in from the outdoor space to the suction chamber 111through the outdoor suction hole 113, the mixed air is exhausted fromthe first exhaust chamber 115 to the outdoor space through the outdoorexhaust hole 116, and the mixed air is exhausted from the second exhaustchamber 117 to the indoor space through the indoor exhaust hole 118.

A filter 130 is disposed inside the first exhaust chamber 115. Thefilter 130 filters various foreign substances contained within the mixedair that flows through the first exhaust chamber 115 and transferredinto the second exhaust chamber 117.

The indoor heat-exchanger 140 is disposed inside the second exhaustchamber 117. The indoor heat-exchanger 140 is heat-exchanged with themixed air transferred from the first exhaust chamber 115 to the secondexhaust chamber 117 to cool and heat the mixed air.

Dampers 151 and 153 are disposed on the outdoor suction hole 113 and theoutdoor exhaust hole 116, respectively. For convenience in description,the damper 151 disposed on the outdoor suction hole 113 will be referredto as a first damper 151, and the damper 153 disposed on the outdoorexhaust hole 116 will be referred to as a second damper 153. The firstand second dampers 151 and 153 selectively open and close the outdoorsuction hole 113 or the outdoor exhaust hole 116. They may beincrementally positioned so as to control an opening degree of theoutdoor suction hole 113 or the outdoor exhaust hole 116. Thus, thefirst and second dampers 151 and 153 open and close the outdoor suctionhole 113 or the outdoor exhaust hole 116, and, by the degree to whichthey are opened, control the opening degree of the outdoor suction hole113 or the outdoor exhaust hole 116 to determine a ventilation state anda ventilation rate.

In this embodiment, the opening/closing states or opening degrees of theoutdoor suction hole 113 and the outdoor exhaust hole 116 are determinedand controlled according to rotation angles of the first and seconddampers 151 and 153 with respect to center portions thereof, but it neednot necessarily be limited thereto. For example, opening/closing statesor the opening degrees of the outdoor suction hole 113 and the outdoorexhaust hole 116 may be determined and controlled according to rotationangles of one end of a damper with respect to the other end thereof.

An operation of the air conditioning system according to the firstembodiment will now be described in detail with reference toaccompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, in a case where a user selects a ventilation mode,heating/cooling and ventilation operations, or a ventilation onlyoperation, are/is performed by the air conditioning system. In case ofthe ventilation mode, the indoor suction hole 113 and the outdoorsuction hole 116 are opened by the selective positioning of the firstand second dampers 151 and 153. The angle to which the first and seconddampers 151 and 153 are opened controls the opening degrees of theoutdoor suction hole 113 and the outdoor exhaust hole 116, and thuscontrols the ventilation rate.

The fan 120 driven when the outdoor suction hole 113 and the outdoorexhaust hole 116 are opened. Thus, the indoor air is pulled-into thesuction chamber 111 through the indoor suction hole 112. At same time,the outdoor air is pulled-into the suction chamber 111 through theoutdoor suction hole 113. The indoor air and the outdoor air pulled-intothe suction chamber 111 are mixed with each other to generate mixed air.

The mixed air within the suction chamber 111 is transferred into thefirst exhaust chamber 115 due to a continuous drive of the fan 120. Aportion of the mixed air transferred into the first exhaust chamber 115passes through the filter 130 due to the drive of the fan 120 and thusthe filtered mixed air is transferred into the second exhaust chamber117. Foreign substances are filtered from the mixed air by operation ofthe filter. The remaining portion of the mixed air that was transferredinto the first exhaust chamber 115 is exhausted to the outdoor spacethrough the outdoor exhaust hole 116 due to the drive of the fan 120.

A portion of the mixed air transferred from the first exhaust chamber115 to the second exhaust chamber 117 is heat-exchanged as the mixed airpasses through the indoor heat-exchanger 140. Of course, in case wherethe user does not select a heating/cooling mode, the mixed air is notheat-exchanged even though the mixed air passes through the indoorheat-exchanger 140. The mixed air that was heat-exchanged while passingthrough the indoor heat-exchanger 140 is exhausted into the indoor spacethrough the indoor exhaust hole 118. Thus, air of the indoor space isheated or cooled and simultaneously ventilated, or only ventilated.

Referring to FIG. 2, in case where the user selects the heating/coolingmode, the indoor suction hole 113 and the outdoor exhaust hole 116 areshielded by a closed position of the first and second dampers 151 and153, respectively. Thus, only the heating/cooling operation isperformed, and the ventilation operation is not performed.

In detail, when the fan 120 is driven, the indoor air is pulled-into thesuction chamber 111 through the indoor suction hole 112. As describedabove, since the outdoor suction hole 113 is shielded by the firstdamper 151, the outdoor air is not pulled-into the suction chamber 111through the outdoor suction hole 113 even through the fan 120 is driven.The indoor air pulled-in as described above is transferred into thefirst exhaust chamber 115 due to the continuous drive of the fan 120.

The indoor air transferred into the first exhaust chamber 115 passesthrough the filter 130 to transfer the filtered indoor air into thesecond exhaust chamber 117. Foreign substances are filtered from the airby operation of the filter. However, since the outdoor exhaust hole 116is shielded, the indoor air transferred into the second exhaust chamber117 is not exhausted into the outdoor space through the outdoor exhausthole 116. That is, in the heating/cooling mode, the ventilationoperation using the outdoor exhaust hole 116 is not performed.

The indoor air transferred into the second exhaust chamber 117 isheat-exchanged as the indoor air passes through the indoorheat-exchanger 140. The indoor air, heat-exchanged by passing throughthe heat-exchanger 140, is exhausted into the indoor space through theindoor exhaust hole 118 due to the drive of the fan 120. Therefore, theheating or cooling of the indoor space is achieved.

A configuration of an air conditioning system according to a secondembodiment will now be described in detail with reference toaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a configuration of an air conditioningsystem according to a second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is possible to control opening/closing statesand opening degrees of an outdoor suction hole 213 and an outdoorexhaust hole 216 as well as an indoor suction hole 212 and an indoorexhaust hole 218. For this, the opening degrees of the outdoor suctionhole 213 and the outdoor exhaust hole 216 are controlled by first andsecond dampers 251 and 253. An opening/closing or opening degree of theindoor suction hole 212 and the indoor exhaust hole 218 are selectivelycontrolled by third and fourth dampers 255 and 257, respectively.

In detail, a casing 210 of an air conditioning unit 20 includes asuction chamber 211, a first exhaust chamber 215, and a second exhaustchamber 217. The suction chamber 211 communicates with an indoor spaceand an outdoor space through an indoor suction hole 212 and an outdoorsuction hole 213, respectively. The first exhaust chamber 215communicates with the outdoor space through the outdoor exhaust hole216. The second exhaust chamber 217 communicates with the indoor spacethrough an indoor exhaust hole 218. A fan 220 is disposed inside thesuction chamber 211, and a filter 230 and an indoor heat-exchanger 240are disposed inside the first and second exhaust chambers 215 and 217,respectively.

In this embodiment, the opening/closing states or opening degrees of theindoor suction hole 212 and the indoor exhaust hole 218 are controlledby third and fourth dampers 255 and 257, respectively. Thus, a rate ofindoor air pulled-into the suction chamber 211 through the indoorsuction hole 212 and outdoor air pulled-into the suction chamber 211through the outdoor suction hole 213 due to a drive of the fan 220 isfurther precisely controlled to precisely control a ventilation rate.

In the second embodiment, although the opening degrees of both theindoor suction hole and the indoor exhaust hole are controlled by thedampers, the precise control of the ventilation rate can be predicted aslong as the opening degree of only the indoor suction hole issubstantially controlled by the damper.

In the first and second embodiments, although the filter is disposedinside the first exhaust chamber, it need not necessarily be limitedthereto. Because the filter filters the foreign substances containedwithin air supplied into the indoor space, it does not matter where thefilter is positioned inside the casing corresponding between the outdoorsuction hole and the indoor exhaust hole.

According to the present disclosure, the air conditioning systemrepresents a solution to the problems faced by the inventors in that theelimination of one fan, while retaining its function, permits areduction in size of the air conditioning unit that was long sought forbut never achieved. Moreover, the solution to the problem unexpectedlyresults in manufacturing cost savings, as only one fan and one motor arerequired, and subsequent maintenance savings, as only one fan and onemotor need to be maintained.

As described above, in the air conditioning unit and the airconditioning system including the same, one fan is configured to both:pull-in air from an indoor space and selectively exhaust a portion ofthat air to an outdoor space; and selectively pull in air from anoutdoor space, mix that air with the air pulled in from the indoor spaceand exhaust the mixed air to the indoor space. Thus, the configurationof an air conditioning system can be simplified in comparison to theknown art, while preserving functionality, reducing manufacturing costs,and increasing operational reliability in relation to known art designs.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments could be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, thedrawings, and the appended claims. In addition to variations andmodifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternativeuses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

1. An air conditioning unit comprising: one fan configured to both:pull-in air from an indoor space and selectively exhaust a quantity ofthe air to an outdoor space; and exhaust air into the indoor space andselectively pull-in air from the outdoor space that is also exhaustedinto the indoor space; and one drive motor operationally coupled to thefan.
 2. The air conditioning unit of claim 1, further comprising: aheat-exchanger, configured to: receive and pass air pulled-in by thefan; and selectively heat-exchange the air that passes through theheat-exchanger and is exhausted into the indoor space by operation ofthe fan.
 3. The air conditioning unit according to claim 1, furthercomprising a damper operationally coupled to an exhaust hole leading toan outdoor space, wherein the air pulled-in from the indoor space andthe air pulled-in from the outdoor space are mixed, and a portion,determined by a position of the damper, of the mixed air is exhausted tothe outdoor space via the exhaust hole, thereby performing ventilation.4. An air conditioning unit, comprising: a casing, comprising: a suctionchamber, to receive air from an indoor space and an outdoor space; afirst exhaust chamber; and a second exhaust chamber; one fan, configuredto: pull-in air from the indoor and outdoor spaces to the suctionchamber; transfer air from the suction chamber into the first exhaustchamber, wherein a portion of the air transferred into the first exhaustchamber is exhausted into the outdoor space; transfer the portion of theair remaining within the first exhaust chamber to the second exhaustchamber; and exhaust the air from the second exhaust chamber to theindoor space; and one drive motor operationally coupled to the fan. 5.The air conditioning unit of claim 4, further comprising: aheat-exchanger, configured to: receive and pass air pulled-in by thefan; and selectively heat-exchange the air that passes through theheat-exchanger and is exhausted into the indoor space by the fan.
 6. Theair conditioning unit according to claim 4, further comprising: anopening in the casing, the opening leading to the indoor space; and adamper operationally coupled to the opening, wherein a position of thedamper is at least one factor that determines a volume of air pulled-infrom the indoor space to the suction chamber.
 7. The air conditioningunit according to claim 4, wherein the fan is disposed inside thesuction chamber.
 8. The air conditioning unit according to claim 4,wherein the air pulled-in to the suction chamber from the indoor spaceand the air pulled-in to the suction chamber from the outdoor space aremixed with each other while being transferred into the first exhaustchamber by the fan.
 9. An air conditioning unit comprising: a casing,comprising: an indoor suction hole, formed as a first opening in thecasing, through which air is pulled-in from an indoor space; an outdoorsuction hole, formed as a second opening in the casing, through whichair is pulled-in from an outdoor space; an outdoor exhaust hole, formedas a third opening in the casing, in which a portion of air pulled-inthrough the indoor and outdoor suction holes or the indoor suction holeis selectively exhausted into the outdoor space; an indoor exhaust hole,formed as a fourth opening in the casing, in which the rest of the airpulled-in through the indoor and outdoor suction holes or the indoorsuction hole is exhausted into the indoor space; a first damper,operationally coupled to the outdoor suction hole, wherein a degree ofopening of the first damper is controllable; one fan for pulling-in airthrough the indoor suction hole and outdoor suction hole and exhaustingair through the outdoor exhaust hole and the indoor exhaust hole; andone drive motor operationally coupled to the fan.
 10. The airconditioning unit according to claim 9, further comprising: aheat-exchanger, configured to: receive and pass air pulled-in by the fanthrough the indoor and outdoor suction holes; and selectivelyheat-exchange the air that passes through the heat-exchanger and isexhausted into the indoor space through the indoor exhaust hole by thefan.
 11. The air conditioning unit according to claim 9, wherein theindoor suction hole, the outdoor suction hole, the outdoor exhaust hole,and the indoor exhaust hole are sequentially disposed in an airflowdirection due to the fan.
 12. The air conditioning unit according toclaim 9, further comprising a second damper, operationally coupled tothe outdoor exhaust hole, wherein a degree of opening of the seconddamper is controllable.
 13. The air conditioning unit according to claim10, wherein the heat-exchanger is disposed between the outdoor exhausthole and the indoor exhaust hole.
 14. An air conditioning systemcomprising: an air conditioning unit of any one of claims 2, 5, and 10;and one or more outdoor units comprising an outdoor heat-exchangerconnected to the heat-exchanger.